The PQR score of a company makes up more than a fourth of the JD Power customer satisfaction rating and this significant PQR number is directly related to how customers regard a company’s management of power quality and reliability, especially during outages.

In the complimentary webinar, Mr. Fire discusses in depth how to understand your PQR satisfaction rating and how outages drive that score. He also goes into details about how to improve a PQR satisfaction rating, design a communication strategy, as well as how to boost customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Additionally, the PQR Simulator, a tool developed by FGI Research and demonstrated in this webinar, allows for the prediction of satisfaction ratings under different outage scenarios, aids in the understanding of how different scenarios correlate to your PQR satisfaction, and compare your results to the national average.

Dino Fire lends his 23 years of industry experience to digging deeper into the statistical implications a PQR score has on the Energy Industry. Those in the position of directors or managers of consumer insights, market research, product development, marketing, communications, or at any utility company concerned with customer communications strategies will find his presentation both thought provoking and insightful.

About FGI Research

FGI Research, Inc. is a leading provider of market research services to top companies around the world. Offerings include custom market research, custom online panels, online communities, social media mining, and research-driven consulting. FGI is currently celebrating 30 years of business as well as its recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in 2011. North Carolina clients include Lowes Home Improvement, Family Dollar, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Triangle United Way, and Becton Dickinson. FGI’s mission is to help our clients stay ahead of their competition by staying connected to their customers.

Contact us with any questions you might have:

• Email
• Call 919-932-8805
• Read our blog
• Follow @FGIResearch

FGI Research, a leading full-service market research firm headquartered in Chapel Hill, was named one of the best places to work in North Carolina’s famed Research Triangle area.

“Of the dozens of awards we’ve won over the years, the ‘Best Places to Work’ award is very, very special,” says David Wilson, CEO of FGI Research. “Over the years, our attention to the ‘whole employee’ has created a culture where employees want to go out of their way to help their colleagues. Ultimately, this leads to happier employees and home lives, better teamwork and productivity, and more satisfied customers.”

In order to be recognized as one of the Triangle’s best places to work, a company must receive high marks in a satisfaction survey of its employees and have innovative approaches to human resources.

“Lasting success is only possible when you consistently have very high customer loyalty,” says Wilson. “And, high customer loyalty is only possible when you have great employees who feel supported, appreciated, and engaged with their company, colleagues, and customers.”

According to Jennie King of the Salt River Project (one of Arizona’s largest electric utilities), it’s the people at FGI Research that make all the difference. “Let’s face it, I have a lot of choices when it comes to market research vendors, and plenty of companies can crunch the numbers,” says King. “I choose to work with FGI Research because their people consistently create a great customer experience for us.”

In addition to its strong focus on customer and employee loyalty, FGI Research provides tremendous support to leading North Carolina non-profits, including: Alliance Medical Ministry, the United Way, and Band Together. FGI Research’s commitment to supporting local non-profits is consistent with its culture of 1) Caring for Colleagues, 2) Caring for Clients, and 3) Caring for Communities.

About FGI Research

FGI Research, Inc. is a leading provider of market research services to top companies around the world. Offerings include custom market research, custom online panels, online communities, social media mining, and research-driven consulting. FGI is currently celebrating 30 years of business as well as its recognition as one of the Best Places to Work in 2011. North Carolina clients include Lowes Home Improvement, Family Dollar, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Triangle United Way, and Becton Dickinson. FGI’s mission is to help our clients stay ahead of their competition by staying connected to their customers.

Contact us with any questions you might have:

• Email
• Call 919-932-8805
• See our website: www.fgiresearch.com
• Read our blog
• Follow @FGIResearch

Kara Kennedy Davis joined the board of the Atlanta/Southeast Chapter of the Market Research Association in 2007 where she served four terms. As Co-Director she helped coordinate social and educational events such as a networking event in 2008 that included a presentation on the trends in qualitative research. During the 2008-2009 term, she managed “The Southern Researcher,” the Chapter newsletter. She also served as Treasurer for two terms overseeing the Chapter’s funds and financial records.

About FGI Research
FGI Research is a recognized leader in providing online panels, online research communities, and full-service market research. For more information about this release, or about the company and its offerings, visit the website or contact a representative at (919) 929-7759.

About SmartPanel^TM and SmartPanel^TM Community
The FGI SmartPanel^TM is an interactive platform that invites users to take surveys, exchange ideas, and interact with other panelists in exchange for incentives like cash and prizes. Cash and prizes are delivered promptly, securely and directly into members’ PayPal accounts. SmartPanelTM members can also participate in online discussion on the SmartPanelTM Community. To join SmartPanelTM, visit the SmartPanel Gateway.

Online Communities Drive Deeper Insight
Our experts have spoken before about the benefits of online-community-based market research. Industry news sources report that more and more companies use communities to fill a need that focus groups once did, attracted to the comparative flexibility and cost-efficiency of the Internet. Certainly, the online community and the focus group have a good deal in common –but they are different in very important ways.

Like in a focus group, moderators can ensure that forum discussion in the community stays on-topic and addresses objectives. However, the online format gives community members more opportunity to speak candidly. This frees insights to emerge from the discussion in a way that feels organic and authentic. Online research communities bring to light ideas that other research methods can miss, and businesses, as a result, are able to capture richer data from the qualitative research they conduct.

Social Media Monitoring Captures Unscripted Feedback
Social media monitoring collects qualitative data, but it does so in a different format than the online community. Social media monitoring captures spontaneous online interactions that are not moderated, and hence it harnesses thoughts that consumers might not express as freely under controlled conditions. The social-media approach gives businesses new ways to understand and respond to consumer behaviour. Researchers found recently that Twitter is an accurate predictor of box-office profits. The popular micro-blogging site sheds light on other subjects, too –which is why FGI Research chose to include data from Twitter in its community solution. With social media monitoring attached to our community solution, we can create a more complete perspective of any research project.

What the Updates Include
The SmartPanel^TM community invites consumers to take surveys and participate in forum discussion in exchange for material incentives. The community portal features an online forum, quick surveys, and secure client- and user- access, among other features. Meanwhile, the new community solution offers the choice of whether to include, on the landing page, a module tracking forum discussion or a feed tracking buzz on popular social media sites.

Qualitative data from community-based research will help businesses refine existing quantitative studies, contextualize quantitative results, and define fresh business initiatives to better serve customers’ interests. For community members, the many features and opportunities to contribute to research make for a dynamic online experience. In short, the new community not only engages customers in online discourse, but it provides researchers with a larger volume of better data, for a better value.

More About SmartPanel^TM
The FGI SmartPanel^TM is one of the most respected online consumer panels in the industry. It is an engaging and interactive platform that invites users to take surveys, exchange ideas, and interact with other panelists in exchange for rewards like cash and prizes. Cash and prizes are delivered promptly, securely and directly into survey respondents’ PayPal accounts. In addition, SmartPanel^TM members are eligible to join the SmartPanel^TM Community. To join SmartPanel^TM, visit the SmartPanel^TM Gateway.

In many respects, marketing research solutions are even more important during challenging economic times. And, when you consider the social and media changes that accompanied the financial crises in 2009, marketing research deserved a seat at every strategic table. Even with the inherent advantages to marketing research, the economy proved to be an enormous challenge for many in the industry. So, after a bit of persistent prompting and prodding from some clients and partners, I wanted to reflect briefly on some of the FGI Research success drivers of 2009. They include..

Client Adaptability: Across the board in 2009, FGI Research clients demonstrated an uncanny ability to stay close to their markets and customers, to spot the differences between short-term trends and long term shifts, and to quickly change their strategies to optimize performance under a new set of rules. FGI Research clients invested even more in marketing research solutions in order to gain new advantages during a time of unprecedented change and uncertainty. Steady, savvy and aggressive clients anchored our FGI Research success in 2009.

Marketing Research Innovation: Economies, consumer behaviors and media habits are not the only areas undergoing massive change: the marketing research industry is being revolutionized. Marketing research solutions are changing and improving at rates never seen before in the history of the industry. At FGI Research, demand for some of our newer solutions is fueling much of our growth. These solutions include custom panels, online communities, and social media mining. These solutions are unlocking tremendous benefits for our clients across all industries and all research and business applications.

Marketing Science: Even with the buzz that comes from the newer marketing research solutions, best-practice marketing science is a pillar of our success at FGI Research. Ultimately, the business of marketing research requires professionals to properly process, analyze and interpret the data we collect and the observations we make. So, while innovation is key to our success, so too is FGI Research’s insistence on using best practice marketing science to drive the insights and recommendations that ultimately lead to better client decisions and performance. Marketing science had a major impact on FGI Research success in 2009.

So, these are three of the most important success drivers for FGI Research in 2009. Before I wrap up, I would be remiss without tipping my hat to the incredibly dedicated team of professionals at FGI Research. In the end, the character and commitment of our employees is what makes our client projects successful. Their teamwork, attention to detail and quality, and positive approach to every task are the things that underpin our success. Let me close by thanking our loyal clients, talented employees, and dedicated partners for a great 2009 at FGI Research. Let’s do it again in 2010!

David W. Wilson
CEO
FGI Research